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The revised policy is revealed in the regulator’s 2011/12 annual report and accounts, published today. It states that instead of only conducting random checks on accounts of charities with income of less than �25,000, in future it will review a sample of accounts of charities of all sizes, to check that they meet relevant accounting requirements.

The Internal Revenue Service is preparing to question some large 501(c)(4) advocacy groups about their political activities, signaling a possible investigation into whether the organizations are violating their nonprofit status, The Wall Street Journal reports.

Holly Paz of the I.R.S.’s tax-exempt division told a conference of certified public accountants Friday that the agency is working on a questionnaire to send to such groups. The agency has not set a date for when the queries will go out.

The churches, charter schools and social service agencies that offer aid and education also don't pay taxes. A new city ordinance, passed last week, bars some of them from expanding and blocks newcomers from prime commercial and industrial areas.

Why Raise Taxes When You Can Raise Money? Governments Take a Dip in the Donor Pool - NPQ – Nonprofit Quarterly - Promoting an active and engaged democracy.: A by-product of the Great Recession and the growing calls to restrain spending, governments at the state and local level are turning to traditional fundraising in a surprising number of ways. Of course, fundraising for public entities and services has happened for years, usually at arms-length via friends’ groups or foundations for state universities, libraries, parks and, increasingly, local schools. But as federal stimulus money ends and the economy continues its uneven path, state and local budgets remain embattled. Seeking private gifts, which are voluntary and convey the notion of marketplace approval, is a path increasingly being chosen or considered across the nation.

What Is Government up to?

Some government efforts are new and range from creative to questionable:

Why Raise Taxes When You Can Raise Money? Governments Take a Dip in the Donor Pool - NPQ – Nonprofit Quarterly - Promoting an active and engaged democracy.: A by-product of the Great Recession and the growing calls to restrain spending, governments at the state and local level are turning to traditional fundraising in a surprising number of ways. Of course, fundraising for public entities and services has happened for years, usually at arms-length via friends’ groups or foundations for state universities, libraries, parks and, increasingly, local schools. But as federal stimulus money ends and the economy continues its uneven path, state and local budgets remain embattled. Seeking private gifts, which are voluntary and convey the notion of marketplace approval, is a path increasingly being chosen or considered across the nation.

What Is Government up to?

Some government efforts are new and range from creative to questionable:

In the past two years, nearly 8,000 Wisconsin nonprofits have lost their tax-exempt status for not filing an annual Form 990 series return, the IRS said.

The IRS will hold a Stay Exempt 501(c)(3) workshop June 26 at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Union and June 28 at UW-Eau Claire. Both workshops are from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and materials and lunch are included.

While there has been "some movement" in terms of some of the stricter regulations included in the Bill, CFG's head of policy, Jane Tully said the organisation still has concerns over the Bill's ability to extend the benefits of the scheme to all charities.

Senators Question IRS Authority to Request Confidential Donor Information | Planned Giving Design Center: Citing concerns over privacy protections, 11 Senators today pressed the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for additional answers on the agency's decision to request confidential donor information from organizations applying for tax exempt status. In a letter led by U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee, the lawmakers said such action circumvented current statutory privacy protections and questioned the targeting of groups specifically seeking the approval or renewal of a tax-exempt designation under section 501(c)(4).

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

massnonprofit.org ::: Under the best of circumstances a state or federal audit, especially when conducted by the Inspector General’s staff, disrupts your agency’s operations, sometimes for months, and can be a significant cause for concern – for you and your board.

As economic austerity threatens to become permanent, many charities are doing all they can to diversify income and become less reliant on grants and fundraising. That often means moving to a more commercial, social enterprise model.

Friday, June 08, 2012

What's next for Prince William County's nonprofits? | InsideNova: Organizations that aren’t community partners, which receive county funding through the annual budget process, often receive incremental funds throughout the year from individual Prince William County supervisors. Vitter said a nonprofit like PWTSC has a difficult time determining how much they will need from year to year and rely greatly on the generosity of individual board members to achieve their mission in the community.

The action by the Finance Department takes effect July 1 and comes after outreach efforts, warning letters and in-person visits by assessors trying to determine which organizations legitimately deserve the waivers, which ones are gaming the system, and which simply slipped under the radar.

Mark Rosenman: Nonprofits Missing From Big Battles: Charities and foundations should be geared up to confront immediate and near-term policy battles of extraordinary consequence to them. Instead, they seem to be wearing blinders -- or simply fear controversy, no matter the stakes.

Congressional Republicans want a repeat of last summer's divisive struggle over raising the debt limit and are committed to pursuing new budget cuts. This comes after the House recently approved changes to last year's deficit-cutting sequestration agreement and shifted what was a shared annual burden of $109 billion entirely to domestic programs and actually raised the defense budget instead of cutting it.

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